


A Sucker for a Good Romance

by storyknitter



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Fanfiction, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Space!AO3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 01:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17972177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyknitter/pseuds/storyknitter
Summary: What better way to spend downtime as a spy than with fanfiction?(Based ona post from @swtor-prompts)





	A Sucker for a Good Romance

_And they knew then that their love would last, until the stars fell from the skies_.

Jonas Balkar grinned smugly as he finished typing the last line, particularly pleased with his most recent writing.  _The Padawan & The Spy_ was a good holoserial on its own, but it was fun to explore the characters and their motivations off-screen – there was really only so much a serial could cover on air. He’d fallen into fanfiction after a season and was hooked.

Ah, this chapter was a thing of beauty. It had behaved so nicely, flowing from his fingers like the Force to a Jedi, and it struck just the right balance between saccharine-sweet and spicy hot. Giving the story a quick once-over for typos, he clicked “Post Now” and stood to refill his caf.

A ding from across the safehouse drew his attention. The grumpiest of spies and slicers, one Theron Shan, glanced from his lunch to his datapad and gave what could only be described as an actual, honest-to-goodness smile. Jonas watched in amazement as Shan abandoned his sandwich and picked up the datapad, his eyes glued to the screen.

What in the galaxy could make him drop the Cantankerous Rex facade? Jonas pondered the options as he hovered near the caf station, mug in hand, stealthily observing his friend.

Now, part of what made Jonas such a good spy – if he did say so himself – were his instincts. The timing of when he’d posted his fic  _could_  have coincided with Theron receiving a message from a good friend… but, being honest, Shan didn’t really have what one would call “friends.” At least, not ones whose messages would make him grin like that. Also, he was still reading, completely engrossed. A message wouldn’t likely be that long.

Scanning the room, Jonas grabbed a napkin and crumpled it up. He crossed to the trash can near the dining table and surreptitiously glanced over his colleague’s shoulder. Stars only knew how, but he managed to contain his crow of triumph upon recognizing the holo-site’s familiar red and white color scheme.

“Hey, Shan,” Jonas said smoothly as he sat in the chair opposite Theron, ignoring the scowl cast in his direction. “How’s the newest fic update?” he asked innocently, smothering a smirk. “That ‘better_under_cover’ is a great writer, huh?”

“What? No,” Theron said, a little too quickly. “I mean… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Jonas might have actually believed him if not for the blush creeping up his neck and into his ears.

“You’ve gotta admit: it’s a great chapter,” he bragged, leaning back in the chair and gesturing in faux-humility. “Little bit of smut, little bit of fluff… It’s like Goldilocks and the Three Nexus: just right!”

“How do you even know that? It was literally  _just_  updat–” Theron froze, shock and horror crossing his features. “Shit.”

“Ha – I knew it!” Jonas gloated as the flush crept into Theron’s cheeks. “All right, what’s your username? I wanna see what–”

“I will  _end_  you if you try,” Theron snarled, clutching the datapad to his chest. “And I’ll blame it on the Cartel if Trant wonders what happened to one of his Nar Shaddaa agents.”

“You mean ‘his  _best_  Nar Shaddaa agent.’” Jonas’s seemingly innocent comment earned him a glare that, if looks could kill, would have incinerated him. “Ah, Shan,” he continued smoothly, “I had no idea you were such a sucker for a good romance. If I’d known before, I’d have–”

“ _Shut it_ , Balkar,” Theron interrupted.

He knew when it was time to make a tactical retreat, and stood, arms raised innocuously, though his mind raced with new ideas. Jonas grabbed his datapad and bag, then prepped to head out to the Slippery Slopes Cantina: he was supposed to check-in with a certain lovely Mirialan trooper in about an hour and would hate to be late. As he walked out the door, Jonas decided to briefly court death.

“Just an FYI: the best part’s about two-thirds of the way through,” he said with a jaunty wave and a smirk, ignoring the growled string of curses behind him.

Hmm. Maybe he’d have to add a guest appearance by a goat in the next chapter.

For no particular reason.


End file.
